Trolley-catcher



0.R.SACKETT TROLLEY CATGHER.

(No Model.)

me Nonms persas cu PHoroLrrHc.. wnswmcnuu. o. c.

UNITED STATEs ATENT OFFICE.

ORVILLE R. SAOKETT, OF N IAGARAFALLS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TORANDOLPH MONUTT, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

TROLLEY- ,CATCH ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentwNo. 567,690, datedSeptember 15, 1896.

Applicata nea Mayi. 1896.

To all whom it may coincer/L.'

Be it known that I, ORVILLE R. SACKETT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Niagara Falls, in the county of Niagara and State of NewYork,l have invented new and useful Improvements in 'ilrolley-Oatehcrs,of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to the trolley-controlling devices employed inconnection with overhead trolley systems for automatically checking theassent of the trolley-pole above the wire or conductor when thetrolley-wheel leaves the latter, so as to prevent the pole from breakingthe usual crosswires of the system or becoming entangeled.therewith andbeing torn from the top of the car.

The invention has Vmore especial reference to a trolley-catcher of this"kind comprising a trolley-wheel yieldingly journaled `on thetrolly-pole, a spring drum or take-up device connected with thetrolley-pole, a restraining cord or rope wound upon said drum andfastened to the car, and a lock for. the `drum which is operated by theyielding trolleywheel.

My Vinvention has for its object to provide a reliable device of thischaracter which is operative in all of the variouspositions as-` sumedby the trolley-pole, which can be reversed on the pole so as to beapplicable to a pole capable of swinging lengthwise of the car on eitherside of its pivot, and which can be easily applied to the trolley-poleand readily removed and taken apart for making repairs. A In theaccompanying drawings, Figure i is a' vertical section of my improvedtrolleycatcher applied to a trolleypole.` Fig. 2 is a transversevertical section thereof in line 2 2, Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4 are verticalsections in lines 3 3 and 4 4L,"Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is avertical section ofthe spring-drum; Fig. Gis a hori-` Zontal section inline f6 6, Fig. l.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures. u

A is the Vtrolley-pole, which may be pivotally attached to the top ofthe carin any wellknown manner and provided'with the usual springwhereby the trolley-wheel B is yield ingly pressed against the wire orconductor C. l l) is a supporting-frame which is suspended `Serial No.591,740. (No model-l from the u bifurcated head `of the trolley-pole andwhich carries the yielding trolley-wheel and `the 'parts of thetrolley-catcher. rlhis frame consists of a pair lof upright sidewalls dd, connected by tie-boltsd. These side walls are provided at or neartheir upper ends avith short inwardly-extending` trunnions e, which arearranged diametrically opposite 1 each other and j ournaled incylindrical openings or bearings j' formed in the forks A of Q thetrolley-pole, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and l), so as to permit the headof the trolley-pole to turn on thetrunnions of said frame for changingits angle with reference to the conductor` infollowing the. variationsof the latter and also permit the reversal of thesupportingframe on thetrolley-pole.

g is the axle of the trolley-wheel, and ll the bearings` thereof, whichslide in vertical or longitudinal guide-slots 72. formed in thetrunnions e, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, so as to permit thetrolley-wheel to move vertically in the supporting-frame l). Thebearings il are provided, respectively, with depending rods, stems, orextensions 71., which slide in upright pockets or guides I, arranged onthe outerf sides of the side walls d, and between the lower ends ofthese rods and the bottom. of the pocketsI are arranged spiral springsJ, which tend constantly to force the rods 7L in g-frame D.

g K is thespring drum or take-up device, and L the restraining rope orcord, which is wound thereon and secured at its lower end to the car,whereby the trolley-pole and trolley are prevented from rising above theconductor when the trolley runs off the latter. This spring-drum issupported on the frame D beu low the trolley-wheel and turns upon astationary axle 7, having a cylindrical body and flat-sided ends, whichlatter are seated in cor respondingly-shaped sockets or openings 7a',formed in the side walls of the supportingframe, as shown inFig. 2.

m is the coiled spring ofthe drum,which is secured at one end to thefixed axle and at the other tothe periphery of the drum. The re-Astraining cord or rope L may be wound directd ly upon the periphery ofthe drum, but the latter is preferably provided with a reduced and thebearings Il upwardly in the support- IOC lateral extension Je, having aflange k3, between which and the main portion of the spring-drum therope is confined.

The spring-drum is provided on each side thereof with an annular row oflocking teeth or projections it, and the rods or extensions 71, of themovable trolley-wheel bearings are provided with inwardly-extending pinsor stops o, which are adapted to interlock with the teeth of thespring-drum when the trolley-wheel rises above its normal position byleaving the conductor, as shown by full lines in Fig. 2, so as to arrestthe further rotation of the drum. The locking-teeth of the spring-drumpreferably consist of gearwheels ad, secured to the sides of the drum,as shown in the drawings, although the teeth may be lcast on the drum ifdesired.. The pins or stops o of the bearingextensions U, pass throughlongitudinal slots o formed in the side walls of the supportingframe D,as shown in Fig. 2.

The spring-drum is preferably inclosed by a casing or housing P, whichextends to the lower end of the supporting-frame D. This casing isprovided in its lower end with a slot ,fn for the passage of therestraining-cord.

In the practical operation of the device, so long as the trolley remainsin contact with the conductor the upward pressure of the trolleypoleproduced by its usual spring causes the trolley-wheel to be depressed,as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, so that its yielding bearings arelowered to about the middle of their guide-slots h. The depression ofthe bearings also causes the stops or pins o to be lowered out ofengagement with. the locking-teeth of the spring-drun'i, as shown bydotted lines in Fig. 2, allowing the drum to turn under the in iiuenceof its spring for taking up the slack of the restraining-rope, thuskeeping the latter taut at all times, while at the same time permittingthe trolley-pole to rise and fall for allowing the trolley-wheel tofollow the variations of the conductor. As soon as the trolley-wheelleaves the conductor the resistance to its upward movement is removed,and the compressed springs J of the bearing-rods 7L by their reactionforce the bearings to the upward extremity of their guide-slots 7L,thereby raising the rods 7i', causing the stop-pins o thereof tointerlock with a pair of adjacent teeth of the sprin g-drum and holdingthe latter against turning. As the restraining-rope is taut and can nolonger unwind from the drum, it prevents the trolley from rising abovethe conductor, thus avoiding injury to the crosswires of the system orthe pole.

The trolley-wheel may be drawn down and replaced against the wire bymeans of the rope L, and as soon as the trolley-wheel is replaced it isdepressed, as hereinbefore described, thereby again unlocking thespringdrum. The trolley-pole is preferably provided, in addition to therope L, with the usual rope for lowering and reversing it at eitherterminus of the line, said rope not being shown in the drawings. Whenthe trolley is against the coiu'lucting-wire,.the spring-drum K isunlocked and the rope L is wound thereon, and if this rope were used fordrawing down the trolley-pole preparatory to reversing it, it would benecessary to wholly unwind the rope from the drum before the pole couldbe lowered, because the resistance of the usual trolley-pole spring isgreater than that of the spring-drum K.

In my improved trolley-catcher the guideslots of the movabletrolley-wheel bearings maintain a substantially upright position, or aposition about at right angles to the conductor, and the wheel willtherefore operate freely regardless of the angle which the pole assumeswith reference to the conductor.

As the parts of the device are all carried by the su pporting-frame andthe latter is suspended from the head of the trolley-pole, the device isvery compact and practically selfcontained, enabling the same to bereadily applied to the pole, or to be removed therefrom for makingrepairs, lif necessary. As the carrying-frame is pivotally hung from thetrolley-pole, it can be reversed for bringing it on the opposite side ofthepole when the car reaches either terminus of the line; This featurerenders the device applicable to trolley-poles which have no swivelingconnection with the top of the car, but canswing only lengthwise of thecar.

All of the parts of the device are inclosed, and are thus protected fromthe weather.

` ln the drawings, two locking-pins o and two rows of locking-teeth forthe drum are shown, but it is obvious that a single locking-pin and asingle row of such teeth might be employed.

I claim as my inventionl. The combination with a trolley-pole, of asupporting-frame pivoted at its upper end to the trolley-pole so as tobe capable of reversal thereon, a spring-drum journaled in said frame,and a rope or cord wound upon said drum., substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with a trolley-pole, of a supporting-frame pivotallysuspended from the trolley-pole, a spring-drum journaled in said frame,a restraining rope or cord wound on said drum, a trolley-wheelyieldingly j ournaled in said frame, and a lock or stop adapted toengage with said drum, and controlled by the movable trolley-wheel,substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with the trolley-pole having openings or bearings inits head, of a su p porting-frame h avin g trunnions j ournaled in saidbearings, a trolley-whee1 supported in yielding bearings guided on saidframe, a spring-drum journaled in said frame a re straining rope or cordwound upon said drum, and a lock or stop for said drum controlled by themovable trolley-wheel, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination with a trolley-poleh aving openings or bearings inits head, of a supporting-'frame having trunnions journaled in saidbearings, and provided with guide-slots,

IOO

IIO

a trolley-wheel having bearings which slide in said slots, a spring-drumjournaled in said frame and having a restraining-cord wound thereon, anda lock or stop for said drum controlled by the movable trolley-wheel,substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with a trolley-pole, and a supporting-frame attachedthereto, vof a trolley-wheel mounted in movable bearings guided ou saidframe, a spring-drum j ournaled in said frame below the trolley-wheeland having locking teeth, a restraining cord wound upon said drum, and arod or extension connected with one of the bearings of the trolley-wheeland having a stop or Vprojection adapted to interlock with the teeth ofthe spring-drum, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination withl a trolley-pole and a supporting-frame attachedthereto and provided in opposite sides with upright pockets, of atrolley-wheel journaled in verticallymovable bearings guided in saidframe and provided with depending rods or extensions which slide in thepockets of the frame, springs arranged in said pockets and acting toraise said rods and bearings, a spring-drurn journaled in said framebelow the trolley-wheel and having locking-teeth, a restraining-cordwound upon the drum, and a locking pin or stop arranged on one of saidbearing rods or extensions and adapted to interlock with. the teeth ofsaid drum, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination with atrolley-pole and a supporting-frame attachedthereto 4and provided in oppositesides with upright pockets, of atrolley-wheel j ournaled in verticallymovable bearings guided in saidframe and provided with depending rods or extensions which slide in thepockets ofthe frame, springs arranged in said pockets and acting toraise said rods and bearings, a spring-drum journaled in said framebelow the trolley-wheel and having locking-teeth, a restraining-cordwound upon the drum, a casing inclosin g said drum and having a slot forthe passage of said cord,and alocking pin or stop arranged on one ofsaid bearing rods'or extensions and adapted to interlock with the teethof said drum, substantially as set forth.

"Witness my hand this 11th day of May, 1 896.

, ORVILLE R. SACKETT. Witnesses:

C. PHAREs, H. M. RIEGER.

